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At-Tabari reports from Ibn Abbas (r), and several Tabi'in like Saeed Ibn Jubair, Mujahid, Tawoos, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i that the word 'riba' in this ayah does not refer to usury, but rather simply giving any generic gift and expecting more in return. Ibn Kathir adds that `Ikrimah, Muhammad bin Ka`b and Ash-Sha`bi also held this understanding. Others, such as Hasan Al-Basri as reported by Ibn Al-Jawzi, understood 'riba' in this verse to indeed refer to usury. It's clear from this ayah that the practice of riba, whether one subscribes to the former or latter understanding of it, is disliked by Allah (swt). 'Riba' in Surah Aley Imran (3:130), however, definately refers to the latter (i.e. usury) and contains a clear prohibition of it.

0

Al-Zamakhshari in his tafsir (Al-Kashaf) said that the famous poet Al-Ma’ari gave a line of poetry as an imitation of the Quran.
Here’s the ayaat:
"Go then in shade (of the smoke of hell) which rises in three columns, verily it is not shady there and there is no protection from the hell fire. Verily, it throws sparks as big as palaces, as if they were reddish-yellow camels."
And here’s Al-Ma’ari’s line of poetry
"A red one, with hair (rays) which float far in the darkness, and throws sparks as big as tents."
حمراء ساطعة الذوائب في الدجى ترمى بكل شرارة كطراف
Al-Razi in his tafsir gives twelve proofs to show how the expression of the Koran is superior to that of the poet. Please note that I'm paraphrasing.
He starts by saying that Allah compared the sparks’ greatness to palaces and their color, great number, succession and speed to yellow camels.
1. The color of the spark is yellow with some blackness and this meaning is contained in the “yellow camels” and not in “tents.”
2. The camels are moving, but the tents do not, so the comparison of sparks to camels that move is superior.
3. The sparks come one after the other and this is contained in the “yellow camels” and not in “tents” so the quranic comparison is better.
4. The palace is a place of high security so comparing the spark to palaces indicates that that all this trouble came from the place they thought would protect him and so is true of the case of the kaffir. The tent, however, is not a place to expect high security.
5. Arabs used to think that camels are a thing of beauty so comparing these to sparks, which are awful, is a taunt. This meaning is not contained in the “tents.”
6. If camels are in a stampede anyone who falls between them will suffer great pain so comparing sparks to camels is more fitting in showing the total damage. This meaning is not contained in “tents.”
7. Palaces are bigger in size than tents and yellow camels are more than tents in number so comparing sparks with palaces and yellow camels means greater magnitude in size and number. This is not contained in “tents”. Given that the purpose is to show the horror, the quranic comparison is more superior.
8. Comparing something with two things is more likely to be remembered by the hearer. If someone hears “Verily, it throws sparks as big as palaces,” he immediately thinks of the greatness of the sparks and when he hears “as if they were reddish-yellow camels,” he comprehends their number, color and succession. On the other hand, someone who hears “throws sparks as big as tents” comprehends only its greatness or its color. Given that the intent is to show the horror, the more detail and complete the comparison, the better.
9. He says in the beginning of the ayah “Go then in shade.” The human being is in a comfortable situation when going to the shade on top of his camel to rest in his palace. So the comparison of the spark to the camels and palace, which has the shade, is a taunt, showing how everything they thought was good turned to their misery. This meaning is not contained in “tents.”
10. It is known that the throwing of the palace to the sky is more awesome than the throwing of the tent because the palace is made of mud, stone and wood. Therefore, the spark that throws the palace to the air is more powerful than the one that throws the tent to the air. The quaranic comparison is better.
11. The pieces of the palaces falling down cause more pain than the pieces of the tent. Since the intention is to show the horror, the quranic comparison is superior.
12. Camels are usually full of cargo, indicating that with every camel there is a variety of pain. This meaning is not contained in “tents” so the quranic comparison is better.
After listing these twelve points, Ar-Razi says:
"These points came to me in a flash, but if we were to beseech God to help us in search for more, he would undoubtedly offer us as many more as we could desire."

14

Alhamdu lillah for the wisdom He gave you to carry out this task that cannot be easily quantified. Only He that send us to this life to worship Him knows and He would reward you abundantly from the His bounties and mercy. I am making use of yor work, me ,my family and all those I can tell.
Wassalamu Alaikum.
Sulaiman Shehu
Zaria, Nigeria.

1

Imam Abubakr Al-Jassas (D.380 AH) in Ahkamul Qur'an explained riba:
"And the riba which was known to and practiced by the Arabs was that they used to advance loan in the form of Dirham (silver coin) or Dinar (gold coin) for a certain term with an agreed increase on the amount of the principal advanced…The riba of Jahiliyya is a loan given for stipulated period with a stipulated increase on the principal payable by the loanee."
Imam Fakhruddin Al-Raazi describes the practice of riba in the days of Jahiliyya:
"As for the riba An-Nasiah, it was a transaction well-known and recognized in the days of Jahiliyya i.e. they used to give money with a condition that they will charge a particular amount monthly and the principal will remain due as it is. Then on the maturity date they demanded the debtor to pay the principal. If he could not pay, they would increase the term and the payable amount. So it was the riba practiced by the people of Jahiliyya."
The same explanation is given by Aadil Al-Dimashqi in his Tafseer Al-Lubaab v.4 p.448.

4

As-salamu alaykum,
Do you happen to know where it is said so? For sure the honorable surah has Du'aa' in it, but I am not sure I've heard before that the remaining of the Qur'an is the reply to the Du'aa'. Any references come to mind?
Barakallahu feeki.

4

I think it's simply a statement Maududi made in his surah intro for Al-Fatihah:
"...it becomes clear that the real relation between Al-Fatiha and the Quran is not that of an introduction to a book but that of a prayer and its answer. Al-Fatiha is the prayer from the servant and the Quran is the answer from the the Master to his prayer."
http://alim.org/library/quran/surah/introduction/1/QSI

2

In surah Fatiha we are asking Allah Subhanahu Taala to show us the Hidayath the correct path. So in this context Allah Subhanau Taala shows us the Hidayath i.e. the rest of the Holy Quraan from Alif Laam Meem Surah to Surah Al Naas....

1

Mercy of Allah swt that He didn't just send us a Book but He sent someone that could be a role model for us. someone who practised what he preached. and showed us how to implement the Qu'ran in our lives because not everyone is able to learn by reading some people need to watch to learn and some learn by hearing.

1

shaytan whispers in hearts of people at 2 times
1. during times of happiness - He may make us forget to be thankful to Allah and/or make us proud boastful of our good fortune
2. during times of hardship- he may try to direct our anger towards Allah for our misfortune.
during both times we need to have patience and turn to Allah in salah. by turning to Allah in salah during good times we are being grateful and during hardship we are asking HIM for help and steering away from shaytans whispers.

0

Note that Abdullah Yusuf Ali had a misconception. He used to regard riba as excessive interest so according to him, if some interest is taken, there is no harm on the person. However, that is not the case as has been proven by the ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad (S).

0

This is a verse which confused some of the translators such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali. He writes in his commentary,
"The spiritual gifts with which the prophets came, may themselves, take different forms according to the needs of the world and the times in which they lived, as judged by the wisdom of God. A striking example here given is the gift of song and music as given to David. . ."
The fact is that the Psalms were not composed by Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him), but rather were revealed to him by Allah (swt) as is clearly stated in the Quran. Additionally, now where in the Quran or in the authentic ahadith is there any support for this accompanying the Psalms with musical instruments?
In order to properly understand the true nature of the psalms (az-Zaboor), one must look to some of the dependable Quranic commentaries (tafaseer). Ibn Katheer explains the meaning of the term az-Zaboor saying: "Az-Zaboor is the name of the book revealed by Allah to Dawud (peace be upon him).
Al-Aloosi further confirms this saying, "Az-Zaboor is the name of the book sent down to Dawud (peace be upon him). It was revealed to him gradually, by installments."
As to the nature of these psalms, Al-Qurtubi states, "Az-Zaboor is the book of Dawood (peace be upon him), consisting of one hundred and fifty chapters; however, it contained no rulings of divine law on matters of prohibited or allowed things. Rather, it consisted of words and wisdom and admonishment."
Al-Aaloosi adds to this description that "the Zaboor also contained divine praises and glorification of Allah."
Prophet Dawud’s captivating, melodious voice was exceedingly beautiful and effective. When he recited the Zaboor, men, jinn, birds and wild animals gathered around him.

0

This is a verse which confused some of the translators such as Abdullah Yusuf Ali. He writes in his commentary,
"The spiritual gifts with which the prophets came, may themselves, take different forms according to the needs of the world and the times in which they lived, as judged by the wisdom of God. A striking example here given is the gift of song and music as given to David. . ."
The fact is that the Psalms were not composed by Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him), but rather were revealed to him by Allah (swt) as is clearly stated in the Quran. Additionally, now where in the Quran or in the authentic ahadith is there any support for this accompanying the Psalms with musical instruments?
In order to properly understand the true nature of the psalms (az-Zaboor), one must look to some of the dependable Quranic commentaries (tafaseer). Ibn Katheer explains the meaning of the term az-Zaboor saying: "Az-Zaboor is the name of the book revealed by Allah to Dawud (peace be upon him).
Al-Aloosi further confirms this saying, "Az-Zaboor is the name of the book sent down to Dawud (peace be upon him). It was revealed to him gradually, by installments."
As to the nature of these psalms, Al-Qurtubi states, "Az-Zaboor is the book of Dawood (peace be upon him), consisting of one hundred and fifty chapters; however, it contained no rulings of divine law on matters of prohibited or allowed things. Rather, it consisted of words and wisdom and admonishment."
Al-Aaloosi adds to this description that "the Zaboor also contained divine praises and glorification of Allah."
Prophet Dawud’s captivating, melodious voice was exceedingly beautiful and effective. When he recited the Zaboor, men, jinn, birds and wild animals gathered around him.

8

Alhamd Lil Lah, for my first opportunity to contact the developers of this wonderful Islamic software which has been part of me since late 90s, please continue with this great task for the benifit of the mankind, May Allah strengthen you on this mission.
Is'hak

0

In this ayah Allah (swt) continues to show us the Love that He (swt) has for the Prophet (saw). Here in this blessed ayah we see this love being manifested in five different ways. In five different ways does He (swt) show us how much He loves His Messenger. In five different ways does He show us how blessed and fortunate this man is. To be the recipient of love from such a Tremendous and Magnificent Being. In this Surah particularly more than the other Surahs, the love that Allah (swt) has for the Prophet (saw) is emphasized. Why is this you might ask? There are at least two reasons. And both of them have already been mentioned in this Surah. The first is because of the battle of the Ahzab. Recall how the hypocrites were criticizing the Prophet (saw) when the Ahzab descended on Madinah. They blamed him (saw) for putting them in that situation. They said that he (saw) had promised them nothing but delusions. Now some of the Muslims may have been affected by such criticism. Their love for him (saw) and their determination to follow in his path may have been weakened. This is why Allah (swt) reminds them in this ayah of his worth, of his greatness and stature. Of His Love for him. The other reason was the Prophet (saw)’s marriage to Zainab (ra). This also drew the criticism and the censure of the hypocrites. They questioned how he could marry the wife of his adopted son. They forgot that Allah (swt) had already decreed that the adopted son was not like the real son. They forgot or else they just didn’t care. They wanted to attack Islam in some way.
So to put an end to such criticisms. To establish once and for all the greatness of this man. Allah (swt) praises him much in this Surah. This ayah is just one more example of that praise. Allah (swt) begins by telling us that with the utmost of certainty that He (swt) makes Salah upon the Prophet (saw). Recall from ayah 43 where we discussed the meaning of this word Salah. We said that it means the sending down of mercy and peace. The sending down of tranquility and love. The sending down of bounties and gifts. The increasing of sustenance. The opening of veils. It also means to draw nearer. Meaning that when Allah (swt) sends down Salah on a person He (swt) draws that person nearer to Himself. Now I ask you what could be greater than this? What could be greater than being in the Divine Presence? What could be greater than attaining that station of nearness to Him? This is what Allah (swt) gave to the Prophet (saw), and this more than anything else this demonstrates his greatness. Because at the end of the day what is the measure of a man? How can we judge ourselves? How can we say who is better than another? Is it by the color of our skin? Is it by the size of our bank accounts? No it is only in closeness to the Divine. He is the Real and the True. This world, all that is other than Him, is only an illusion. He is the Ultimate Goal that we were all created to seek. Now of all human beings who ever lived, in fact out of all creation, the Prophet (saw) was by far the nearest. This is the primary meaning of what Allah (swt) means here by saying that He makes Salah on the Prophet (saw). It means that He draws himself (saw) closer to Himself. He (swt) continues to grant the Prophet (saw) this station of nearness. How then can anyone criticize him? How can anyone find fault with him? When he is so close to the Divine? Furthermore why does he (saw) even need their acceptance when he already His?
The second way in which Allah (swt) establishes the greatness of the Prophet (saw) is by telling us how His angels make Salah on him (saw) as well. Now as we discussed previously, the Salah of the angels is different from the Salah of Allah (swt). The angels do not literally send mercy, peace and tranquility upon the Prophet (saw) like Allah (swt) does. They of course do not draw him (saw) close to them like He does. Rather as we said their making Salah upon him is their praying to Allah (swt) to make Salah upon him.
The angels realize as well how there is nothing better that a creation can possibly have than that station of nearness to Him. And they love the Prophet (saw) more than any other creation because they know that Allah (swt) does. Their love is a manifestation of His. So they ask Him, they supplicate to Him, they make dua to Him to give the Prophet (saw) that special place. They are constant and steadfast upon this supplication. At every moment they are praying to Allah (swt). Asking Him to give this special place to the Prophet (saw).
Once again we have to ask ourselves how wonderful it is to have the love of beings like the angels. Beings that are so pure, so righteous. They never sin. The never forget. They are made of light. They have no impurities. They are far more powerful than we could ever imagine. They can lift up an entire city with just one of their wings. They can travel distances of light years within a few seconds. They give life to the dead with the Permission and Power of their Lord. And they cause death to the living with the Permission and Power of their Lord. They are among the greatest of His creation. Yet the Prophet (saw) is far greater than them. He (saw) has a station of nearness to the Divine far more than they do. And we see from here that they make dua for him. They ask Allah (swt) to increase in the nearness that is given to Him.
Then the third bounty that Allah (swt) gives for the Prophet (saw) is that He tells us to make Salah for him as well. He tells us to supplicate for him as well. All the Muslims. All the believers. Actually all of man. Every single man, woman and child from the time this Message was sent to the moment the Trumpet is blown. WE all have an obligation upon us to pray for this man. A direct order given to us from our Creator and Sustainer, our Lord and Master. The commandments in the Quran are really intended for all mankind because this Message is intended for them. But what is required is first to believe, and then to carry out the Law.
Now Allah (swt) has given us several commandments in the Quran and Sunnah. There are several directives which He expects us to carry out. Such as prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage, avoiding usury and fornication, and so on. But this command to send blessings upon the Prophet (saw) is the only command where before He tells us to do it, He mentions how He Himself and His angels are doing it as well. He (swt) Himself is doing it. Only then does He tell us to do it. Just think then that if anyone were to neglect this command. If anyone were to ignore it or take it lightly, just think how much of the Divine Wrath they would draw upon themselves.
Not only has Allah (swt) obligated us to pray for the Prophet (saw). Even every time we mention his name or hear his name being mentioned. Even in all of our daily prayers. But He (swt) has also promised great reward if we do so, In one hadith we have been promised the relieving of all our worries and the forgiveness of all our sins if we make prayer for our beloved (saw). In another hadith Allah (swt) promised us that if we make Salah on the Prophet (saw) once then He (swt) will make it upon ten times. So by asking for his station to be raised, our own station will be raised. Ten times more.
The fourth bounty that Allah (swt) confers upon the Prophet (saw) in this ayah is that He tells us to “and greet (him) the best of greetings”. We should greet him (saw) with the best of greetings. Now as we know the best of greetings in our Din is As-Salamu Alaika. The literal meaning of this is “May the Peace be upon you”. But what exactly does this mean? Why is the word “Peace” in this ayah qualified with the definite article? It is to show that it is not just any peace, rather it is THE Peace. And what is THE Peace? What is the Source of Peace? Of course it is Allah (swt) Himself. So even this greeting is a dua, it is a supplication that we make. We are praying that Allah (swt) is always with the Prophet (saw). We are asking Him (swt) to always be with him (saw). Not just to be with him, but to be a source of peace for him. To be a source of comfort for him. To be a source of tranquility for him. And how could this not be so? When the Divine is with you. When He is near to you. How then can you fear? How then can you worry? Who is there who can hurt you? Who is there who can do anything to you when He is with you? Is He not the Real and the True? Is He not the Source of all Power? There is not even the slightest of harm that happens in this world except if it be by His Permission. Even the slightest of discomfort that anyone feels is only what He allows. And if He so pleases then you will not feel anything bad at all. You will have no sorrow, no fear, no pain, not even the slightest discomfort. Rather you will have peace, tranquility and contentment. Even if there is some pain in you, it will not affect you. Because more than that pain you feel His Presence close to you. This is what we should pray to Allah (swt) to give to the Prophet (saw). This is why we should greet him (saw) in such a way. Because we love him so much we should hope for him the absolute best. We should hope for him that station of nearness to the Divine.
And as we know this greeting was not only for his companions who were alive in his time. But even for us, even when we make our prayer, an integral part of our prayer is that we make this greeting for him. Now Allah (swt) Knows best as to whether he (saw) actually hears our greeting. There are some who say that he (saw) does have some kind of a life even in the grave and that the angels take the greeting of the believers to him. Allah (swt) Knows best if this is true or not. We have to remember that at the end of the day, he (saw) was a mortal man just like all of us. And Allah (swt) has promised him in the Quran that he (saw) will taste of death just like all creation does. So even if he (saw) does not actually hear our greeting we have to remember that in the end this greeting is a dua. We are asking Allah (swt) to be with him. And of course we know that Allah (swt) is the All Hearing. He (swt) hears the prayers of all supplicants at every moment. It does not matter in which language the prayer is made, it does not matter if it was said silently or out loud. Even if you made it in the deepest corners of your heart, you can be certain that He (swt) hears it So when we say this special greeting in our prayer, even if the Prophet (saw) did not hear what we said, we can be sure that his Lord did. And that should matter more than anything else.
The fifth way in which Allah (swt) manifests His Love for the Prophet (saw) in this ayah is actually through another understanding of the command “and greet (him) the best of greetings”. This is one way in which this command can be translated. But another way could mean “submit to him with a full submission”. The command salimu could mean to greet or it could also mean to submit. Both meanings are present in the language. So just as we should greet him with the best of greetings, just as we should pray for him the best of prayers, we should also submit to him (saw) completely,
Now what exactly does it mean to submit to the Prophet (saw)? Should we not submit to Allah (swt)? Of course. The correct understanding is that submit to Allah (swt) by submitting to the Prophet (saw). Just like when we obey the Prophet (saw) we obey Allah (swt). So what it means to submit to the Prophet (saw) is that we have to do whatever he tells us. And we know that he (saw) does not speak from his own desires, rather whatever he says is only a revelation revealed. And Allah (swt) has also told us in other ayahs that whatever the Prophet (saw) gives us we should take and whatever he tells us to avoid we should refrain. Meaning that we should accept the Sunnah as an equal source of legislation to the Quran. Whatever the Prophet (saw) tells us to do, we should do. We should know that command comes from Allah (swt) Himself. We should not question. We should rationalize. Rather we should just submit. So for example when the Prophet (saw) tells brothers to grow their beards and sisters to cover themselves then we should all listen to him. There should not be even the slightest of hesitation or reservations in our hearts to any of his (saw)’s commands.
Who is there in the history of mankind who has ever held a position like this? Who is there who have had so many people submit completely to what they say? Who is there who has had an entire science developed and volumes and volumes of books return just to collect their sayings? Even the Bible as we know it today does not consist mostly of the words of ‘Isa (as). Rather at best it is the sayings of his disciples and what they witnessed from him. But for us, we have thousands upon thousands of authentic sayings from the Prophet (saw). And the Muslim hangs upon these words. He bases his entire life upon them. Allah (swt) decreed it to be so. Another manifestation of His Love.
In this ayah we have found these five ways in which Allah (swt) shows us His Love for the Prophet (saw). But of course it is not restricted to these five. There are several other ways in which we can see how beloved this man was to the Divine. Several other ways in which we can see how great he was. Among these is that whenever Allah (swt) speaks of him He (swt) rarely uses his name. Rather He (swt) calls him “The Prophet” or “The Messenger” or the greatest title “His Slave”. If you look through the Quran you can see this for yourself. And even in those rare instances where the Prophet (saw) is mentioned by name, Allah (swt) right away refers to him as “The Messenger”. In the very same ayah. This was how much He (swt) loved him (saw). This was how great a human being he was. Another manifestation of His Love is that He joined the Prophet (saw) name with His in the Kalimah. In the greatest of words ever spoken. The truest of words. In fact if you look closely at the Kalimah, you would see that even the word “and” is missing between Allah (swt) and the Prophet (saw). We say “There is no illah except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”. See how the word “and” is missing. This is to further emphasize their closeness. Now that we realize his tremendousness. Now that we realize his station with the Divine. We have to ask once again what is our relationship with him . Do we know about his life? Are we following in his path? How many of his hadith have we read and implemented in our lives? Do we behave with the people and our families as he did? In the very best of ways. If our answers to these questions is in the negative then we have to realize how far we have to go. How will Allah (swt) ever give us the responsibility of implementing His Law upon the earth when we are so far from the one who brought to us that Law? How will He allow us to enter the Garden if we forgot the one who showed us the way?

0

This comment comes from my understanding of the tafseer of this Surah as presented by Bayyinah.com.
The meaning of the word "kafiruun" used here implies that they have always been and will always be kafir (unbelievers). It refers to past, present and future.
Allah is only referring to a particular set of unbelievers during the time of our prophet SAW. The word kafiruun can not be extended to any kafir as it is a word of complete condemnation in that they will never turn away from it.
Allah calls them kafiruun even though they committed shirk (rather than calling them mushrik) because they refused to leave shirk even though clear evidence had come to them.

0

The word Kafirun is the plural of Kafir and Kafir simply means that who rejects or does not accept a specific faith. This word has been mainly used in Al-Qur'an for those who didn't accept Allah, SWT as the one and only Lord and the Prophet, SAW to be His messenger.

0

The desciption of Allah in the translations by Asad and Yusuf Ali are not appropriate. If anything, blasphemous. Defining Allah in superlative adjective suggests that Allah is being compared with something or somebody. Hear them:
Asad: In the name of Allah, the MOST GRACIOUS .....
Yusuf Ali: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The most acurate and more appropriate description of Allah is embedded in the translations given by the dou, Malik and Pickthall respectively as: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful and "......the Beneficient, the Merciful..."
It is patently a blasphemy comparing Allah with any of His creatures. I suggest the blasphemous adjective should be removed in the new editions.
Abdul-Rahoof Ibn Bello.

1

If I understand correctly, the point being made is that there is a difference between "the embodiment of mercy" and “possessing the most mercy”. The former would be in line with Malik and Pickthall’s translation while the latter is similar to Ali and Asad. Undeniably the two meanings are different and most mufassirs seem to concur that the meaning conveyed in Arabic more closely matches the former. However, that doesn’t necessarily imply the meaning of the latter is incorrect or blasphemous. Is it really erroneous to say that Allah (swt) has more mercy than any of his creation?

0

Some of Allah (swt)'s names and attributes are unique to Allah (swt). Such as al-Khaliq (The Creator). None in His creation has any part of that attribute. But some other names and attributes are different in the sense that the creation was given a minute portion of that. One such example is mentioned in the following hadith:
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: "Allah made mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nine parts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this one part that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal lifts up its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might hurt it."
Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 4942
So the creation was given a small portion of Allah's mercy, but Allah (swt) is All Merciful.

0

I find your comments very interesting mr Rahoof. Will u then say that the use of HE and other like pronouns in the Quran that refer to ALLAH should not be used because they are for humans, and will mean comparing ALLAH to humans? In fact the use of superlative in English is not limited to humans but includes everything capable of showing 'mercy'.

1

This comment reflects some points I learned from the tafseer of this Surah at Bayyinah.com.
When this surah was revealed, H Abu Bakr cried profusely. Allah predicts the triumph of Islam which means that the job of Muhammad S is complete and his life will come to an end.
After the revelation of this surah, the prophet S made more istighfar than he ever had before. Allah commanded to do so in the last verses.

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Ibn Taymiyya (a) wrote about this ayah: “The verse ‘You have our religion and I have mine’ certainly designates a separation of the two things; that is to say ‘Your religion is your affair and I have nothing to do with it at all, my religion is my affair and you have nothing to do with it either.’ This is the same as the statement in the verse, ‘I have my deeds and you have yours’ [http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/28/55/Al-Qasas]. There is no basis here for the assumption that the Prophet (s) was somehow approving of the religion of these pagans; neither with that of the Jews, Christians nor other People of the Book, as some of the secular-minded people have suggested. By the same token, it does not imply prohibition against fighting them, as some have wrongfully asserted, before saying that it was also abrogated. Rather, it disassociates the Prophet (s) from their religion, and disassociates them from his religion. Likewise their deeds will not reflect upon him, and his deeds will not profit them nor benefit them in any way. The parts of the revelation which have established fundamental points of doctrine were not subject to abrogation; the Prophet (s) never expressed approval of their religion, nor that of the People of the Book. But some people still insist that this was so, and persist in their arguments over this surah. They insist this means that the Prophet (s) approved of the religion of the pagans, and that the verse was later abrogated, yet the Prophet (s) had approved of them before. But this exposes them as liars who put words into the mouth of Muhammad (s) for he was never satisfied at all with any religion other than the one he was sent with, which was revealed with His book. This is clear from the verse, ‘I have my deeds and you have yours, you are not responsible for what I do and I am not responsible for what you do’ [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/10/41/Yunus ]. And also in the verse, ‘So unto this (religion) call others and be upright as you have commanded. Do not follow their desires but say, ‘I believe in the books which Allah has revealed and I stand commanded to establish justice among you. Allah is our lord and your lord. To us our deeds and to you yours’.’ [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/42/15/ash-shura ]. And He said, “And take those of the believers who follow you under your wing, but if they are disobedient then tell them, ‘I am free of what you do’’ [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/26/216/ash-shuaraa ]. So the Prophet (s) disassociates himself from the action of whoever is disobedient from among the believers, how then would he not disassociate himself from the disbelievers who are much worse in their disobedience and deviance?” (Al-Jawab as-Sahih li man Baddala Deen al-Masih, 2/30-32 translated by Muhammad Saeed al-Qahtani in Al-Wala’ Wa’l-Bara’)

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Here Allah (swt) uses the word في (in) to describe travelling in relation to the earth instead of the word على (on / upon) which is the word one who speaks Arabic would normally think of using. في however, is a much more accurate description since the earth as we now understand it includes its atmosphere and we fly within it for travel. It is also now very common to travel underneath the surface of the earth in tunnels which again affirms that في is the more accurate preposition to use. This is just one of an abundant number of examples within the Quran to show how it uses the most accurate of words to describe something. Precise usage of language is but one of the features of the miracle of the Quran.

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MashAllah this is a beautiful and beneficial software and site may more people become aware of it ameen. Very commendable work please continue this type of work it is a lovely to do spread the message of islam. Jazak Allah Khair to the team.

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This is a beautiful and beneficial software and site may
more people become aware of it and take full advantage, specially for those who are beginning to recite the holy Qur'an in helping them to learn the correct pronunciation.

Jazak Allah Khair to the team.

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Assalamu Alaikum, I have a question, How come the surah does not start with Bissmillah! I mean how come the Qari doesnt say it, and when Qari Mishary Rashid Al Afasy came to waqf yusalli he continued reading but he stopped at the last few? Is there a rule for that and what type of reading does he do(style) Shukran Jiddan

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Sister Fatimah,
The lack of recitation of "Bismillah..... in the beginning of each Surah" has been fixed. Please check it and let us know your feedback. Thank you again for using Alim program and helping us improve it. Continue to use it and let your family and friends know about it too. It will be a great help from you.

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Shukran Jiddan! This is an excellent site and I am glad Allah allowed me to come across it, I will definitely share with my friends and family. barakAllahu Feek, wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa baraakatuhu

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Assalamu Alaikum
I read in the Tafsir once that after The ayah "Which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny" Is recited, one should say "Oh Lord, we do not deny any bounty of Thine, all praise and admiration is for Thee alone" But I do not know how to say it in Arabic...can someone help me?

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in reply to Bint Kwajah
this is one of those things one hears but one is unable to produce an authentic hadith to support. for that reason one should be careful what one reports to the public to avoid misguidance

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it is impossible to make any meaningful comment on the whole suratul Baqara because of its length and the great amount of information and guidance contained in it. may i suggest that the sura is taken an ayat at a time. each ayat should be accompanied by a translation and brief comments from famous salaf. this way discussions may be generated

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Discussing the entirety of a surah isn't a new thing. In various tafasir you often find introductions to surahs which consist typically of summaries, analysis of themes, or discussions about periods of revelations. Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali wrote an entire book in this fashion titled "A Thematic Commentary on the Qur'an". On this site also you can find Surah Introductions by Malik and Maududi.

You just have to click on the link next to each ayah in order to see translations and discuss on the level of the ayah. It would be great if you could share any comments from aslaaf you've come across as this is pretty much left up to the community.

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Assalamu Alaikum Ya Syed. your comment has shown me the error of my assumptions. the number and type of comments i saw on suratul fatihat and the absences of comments on suratul Baqara led me to make the comments i made. Insha Allah i hope to get into the spirit of the discussion groups. i pray Allah (swt) to use this medium in enlightening me and other muslims about our deen.
i must take this opportunity to thank the sponsors of this invaluable medium for the efforts they have put in producing it. i am a benificiary of the Alim products having learnt a great deal of Islamic history from the Alim CD. May Allah (swt) reward you with Aljannah Firdaus Ameen

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Please let the audio file of the whole surahs be downloadable .Ayah by Ayah is not good .It is not satisfactory.Let me be clear.I wanted to download the whole audio file of the Surah Zummar.I did downloaded but when I listen it on my computer it was mere one ayat.

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There is no mistake here, the script is just a little different than the one you are used to. In this one, the kasra is below the shaddah whereas the fatha is above it. In other scripts, such as the one on the calligraphy pages, the kasra is below the entire letter. Just different styles representing the same vocal inflection.

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Dalla is from the word dalaal, which linguistically means to be misguided or on the wrong path. The sharii meaning of the word means deviation from Islam i.e. to not have iman or not be on “sirat al-mustaqeem”. The evidence for this are ayaat which describe the guided and the misguided as two different peoples the former for whom is jannah and the latter for whom is jahanam. A few examples are 4:167, 6:140, 7:38, 14:4 and al-fatiha itself. Related to the topic of Isma al-Anbiyya, because the Prophet (s) is described as “not misguided” does not prove he is infallible in the absolute sense. Anyone with iman would fit the description of “not misguided” and of course no one claims that anyone with iman is infallible. A person can be guided (i.e. have hidaya) but still commit an error, sin or otherwise.
Ghawa is from ghawaya or ghawa and it’s a synonym of dalaal. It means “deviation from the right course” according to Lane’s lexicon. For the topic of Isma, the same point applies here as was mentioned with the word dalaal.

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Does the Prophet (s) not speak of his own desire in every subject matter or is it restricted to a certain subject? The next ayah establishes that the subject is the wahiy (revelation) when Allah (swt) says “It is no less than wahiy sent down to him”. So he doesn’t speak of his own desire in matters of the wahiy. This is supported by Surah al-Anbiyya 45 [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/21/45 ] (“I warn you only by the wahiy”) and Surah Sad 70 [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/38/70 ] (“It is revealed unto me only that I may be a plain warner”) which establish the purpose of the wahiy is that what deals with warning i.e. rules, laws, beliefs. The subject of the wahiy is not technical or worldly issues and hence these are not included in “ma yantiqu anil hawa’. Hence, it is possible the Prophet (s) erred in technical issues, such as what was narrated to us in the hadith of pollination [ http://alim.org/library/hadith/SHM/1100 ]. Furthermore, while salah is a subject of the wahiy, the wahiy also absolves us of what is done out of forgetfulness and what is done (or not done) while one is sleeping (hadith: the pen is lifted from three…the sleeping until he awakes…”, “And there is no sin on you concerning that in which you made a mistake” Sura Ahzab 5 [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/33/5/ ], “Our Lord, punish us not if we forget or fall into error." Al-Baqara 286 [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/2/286 ]). So forgetting a portion of the salah or sleeping through fajr (as long as one took means to wake on time) are not considered sins by the wahiy. Hence, there is no conflict between this ayah and the ahadith which contain the incidents of the Prophet (s) committing the aforementioned actions ([ http://alim.org/library/hadith/SHB/321/2 ] and [ http://alim.org/library/hadith/AMH/26/1 ]). These are simply human errors which this ayah does not prove was something that was beyond a Prophet of Allah.

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Salamun Alaykum respected brother Syed Husain,
the Prophet (saw) never committed worldly errors, nor was his infallibility with regards to wahiy' only.
As I have said earlier, it simply does not make sense, that Prophet Muhammad (saw) has to inform us that he does not make mistakes with regards to the wahiy'. Ofcourse he doesn't. Allah did not speak to him with regards to the Quran only. What about the Qudsi ahadith? Allah (swt) made several (communications) with Prophet Muhammad (saw) beside revealing Quranic verses.

Say: I warn you only by revelation; and the deaf do not hear the call whenever they are warned (21:45)

Proves my point that Allah (swt) reveals everything to Prophet Muhammad (saw), which is why we are told to obey him also. We have tons of narrations about him foreseeing judgement day, and the future in general. (ofcourse, by Allah's will)

Naught is revealed to me save that I am a plain warner. (38:70)

If you read the previous verse:

I had no knowledge of the exalted chiefs when they contended: (38:69)

, you clearly read that Prophet Muhammad (saw) had no knowledge about it but was informed by Allah (swt). I have no where made the claim that Prophet Muhammad (saw) knows about the future or can perform miracles without Allah's permission.

In 33:33 we are informed that it is due to Allah's wish, that Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his purified Ahl ul Bait (as) are infallible. Isa (as) performing miracles in the Quran is also due to Allah's will.

38:70 means that he is here to warn us about the punishment for not obeying Allah (swt) and him. There are tons of other verses where Allah (swt) tells Muhammad (saw) not to be sad due to the Arabs not listening to him. Prophet Muhammad (saw) was tenderhearted and was sad to see his fellow Arabs go astray. Allah (swt) then informs him to leave those stubborn Arabs, and tell them that his task is to warn only. This has nothing to do with him being able to make worldly mistakes.

Assert their relationship to their fathers; this is more equitable with Allah; but if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brethren in faith and your friends; and there is no blame on you concerning that in which you made a mistake, but (concerning) that which your hearts do purposely (blame may rest on you), and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (33:5)

This verse is not towards the Prophet (saw) but towards mankind in general, read verse 33:4 and 33:6 in order to realize that.

Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability; for it is (the benefit of) what it has earned and upon it (the evil of) what it has wrought: Our Lord! do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Our Lord! do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us, Our Lord do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear; and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, Thou art our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people(2:286)

Again, this verse is not towards the Prophet (saw) but towards mankind in general.

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Salamun alaykum,
sorry for spamming but had to mention the following:
Quran states:

"Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah." (Quran 4:80)

This obedience is with regards to daily life also. Allah (swt) tells us that whosoever obeys Prophet Muhammad (saw) obeys Allah, meaning that whatever the Prophet (saw) says, is what Allah (swt) wants him to say. Meaning again, that this verse relates to Surah Al Najm.

According to Sunni ahadith, the Prophet (saw) foretold many events to happen, but these events did not happen. People then questioned him, and he then replied that he can make worldly mistakes since he is just a an ordinary man like you and I.

Such ahadith are fake and goes against the Quran. If Prophet Muhammad (saw) is to be obeyed and he commits an error, this audhubillah means that Allah (swt) committed an error. Why? Because Allah (swt) says that obeying Muhammad (saw) is equal to obeying Allah.

You believe that his wahiy is protected but his personal statement is not.
How do we know which of the Prophet's (saw) sayings are from Allah (swt) and which are his own personal sayings? He (saw) may say something which the companions take as Allah's command, but it may be that he (saw) was only expressing his own opinion. If that happens, then all of Allah's laws will be in chaos and disarray. That is why, even the Prophet's own personal statement has to conform with Allah's orders, for fear of misinterpretation by the people. In fact the Prophet (saw) had a perfect reason and his Ijtihad was in perfect compliance with Allah's orders and satisfaction and that is why Quran orders us to obey whatever he states without condition.

Also, how can we understand which acts of the Prophet (saw) are wrong, and which are right? What is the measure for us? Isn't a part of this measure the practice of the Prophet (saw) himself? Since the practice of the Prophet (saw) is considered to be one of the sources of deriving the rules of Islam, we can not evaluate the Prophet's (saw) actions by the rules which are derived from his actions! As such all the actions of the Prophet (saw)should have been protected.
Awaiting your response.

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“You are of the highest noble character”
The definition for khuluqun adheeym given by Asad [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/68/4 ] is very accurate. The point regarding Isma al-Anbiyya, however, is whether or not this description excludes the Prophet (s) from making any type of mistake. Regarding technical issues there is nothing in the meaning of this ayah which would indicate the Prophet (s) cannot err. The comment regarding the ayah in Surah An-Najm [ http://alim.org/library/quran/ayah/compare/53/3 ] discusses that the scope of the wahiy is not technical issues. Hence, having a character which is described as the embodiment of the Quran does not allude to anything regarding one’s ability in technical or worldly issues. Regarding missing a prayer in regards to the discussion pertaining to the hadith in Bukhari [ http://alim.org/library/hadith/shb/321/2 ], the question is missing a prayer unintentionally a sin according to the Quran and hence would be in contradiction with the description khulqun Adheeym? As discussed in the previously mentioned link, and also here [http://alim.org/library/hadith/fiq/FQS/1/89 ] its not a sin and hence there is no conflict with the Prophet (s) having khuluqun adheeym and the idea that he unintentionally missed a prayer.

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Salamun Alaykum respected brother Syed Husain,
did you even read my reply? I have clearly shown how Prophet Muhammad (saw) is not the one frowning. The Surah is about atleast 2 people.
Read my reply again. I simple won't copy paste my previous replies.

Now with regards to 68:4, the correct translation is:

And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality.

This verse was revealed long before Sura Abasa. How can Allah (swt) praise our beloved Prophet (saw) for his personality and then condemn him afterwards? Why even discuss this when I have clearly shown you linguistically that the person adressed is not the prophet (saw)?

Lets go through Al Qalam verse 3 and 4

:

And most surely you shall have a reward never to be cut off.

And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality.

A continuous and abundant flow of Allah's (swt) grace and mercy always surrounded the Holy Prophet (saw) from all sides in every moment of his life.

It was a reward not like an earthly reward that is used up or depleted, but one that was interwoven as part and parcel of the very core of his being which enabled him to do that which was right and proper in any circumstances.

He stands on a most exalted standard of character and his life is an incomparable living illustration and explanation of the Quran. It is more appropriate if said that the Quran is a mirror of his most honoured being, which is why Allah (swt) numerous times in the Quran, orders us to obey the Prophet (saw). His life pattern is now the standard for his followers isn't it? If Prophet Muhammad (saw) would/could say things, which goes against the Quran, Allah (swt) would not have ordered us to obey him also. He was the living Quran while Quran itself was in a bookform.

The life account of the "mercy unto the worlds", mentioned in the Quran, cannot be reported in few pages, brother Syed Husain. In the light of the recorded events of his life, even the worst enemies of Islam, accept the fact that no man better than him ever lived on the earth.

The sublime moral and spiritual excellences of the Holy Prophet manifested in every aspect of his private as well as public life. He lived among the people without making known his ministry for forty years in order to first establish his truthfulness, reliability, kindness, highmindedness, tolerance and wisdom, so that when the announcement of his prophethood would be made, they should have no hesitation in accepting the invitation given by him to worship one God, but those who called him al amin and al sadiq vehemently opposed his mission. Al amin bears a comprehensive range of meanings. Al in the Arabic language denotes exclusive distinction and refers to the person who alone owns the quality mentioned after it. Amin refers to a person who can be trusted beyond any suspicion in whatever he does or undertakes to do. So it was a divine plan to bind the people with their own judgement. The Quran is the only scripture which asserts that its teacher is the perfect model or ideal for the whole mankind , therefore the people must believe in the message he has conveyed to them. Since he was the last prophet, perfection in every aspect of life, material as well as spiritual, was illustrated in him.

Quran states:

We have made some of these messengers to excel the others among them are they to whom Allah spoke, and some of them He exalted by (many degrees of) rank; and We gave clear miracles to Isa son of Marium, and strengthened him with the holy spirit. And if Allah had pleased, those after them would not have fought one with another after clear arguments had come to them, but they disagreed; so there were some of them who believed and others who denied; and if Allah had pleased they would not have fought one with another, but Allah brings about what He intends.(2:253)

The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers; We make no difference between any of His messengers; and they say: We hear and obey, our Lord! Thy forgiveness (do we crave), and to Thee is the eventual course.(2:285)

Now, do you think that Allah's ambassador/representtive, can act against Allah's commandments? This is with regards to prayers and with regards to being humble. How can you even think that prophet muhammad (saw) would frown when asked a question regarding the Quran?? What sort of ambassador is he if he does such an act??

Also, we know that prophet Muhammad (Saw) would go to the mountains before he started preaching Islam, and pray / meditate. He did this during the day, morning and evening. Do you seriously believe that prophet Muhammad (Saw) forgot to pray fajr?? (astarghfurullah) Do you seriously believe that prophet Muhammad (Saw) who knew the Quran by heart, since he was the living Quran, would forget certain rakahs?? He would be corrected by his sahabas?? (audhubillah)

Have you ever read the Bible? Have you read about Prophet Isa (as) in the Bible? (we all know that the Bible has been corrupted and this is another topic), but my point here is that even Christians do not believe that Isa (as) committed errors. How could he?? He was Allah's representative. Sinning is out of the question but forgetting how to pray or missing prayers is unheard of even from Christian sources. Yet you discuss this issue with me? I seriously cannot believe, that I am discussing whether prophet Muhammad (Saw) forgot an entire prayer or forgot parts of prayers and was reminded by others!

The act of frowning when asked about something as important as the Quran, is an act of unjust behaviour. Wouldn't you agree?

Quran states:

And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the unjust, said He.(2:124)

We know from this verse that Allah (swt) informs Propget Ibrahim (as) that the prophets from his aal/offspring won't be unjust. They won't sin nor act in any such matter, which results in condemnation.

Please don't bring corrupted ahadith when Quranic verses clearly show us that the prophet (saw) is infallible (33:33) and is of such a character, that the Quran numerous times mentions his sublimity.

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Question:In regards to verses 51 and 57, about not taking Jews and Christians as protecting friends or allies, Asad is the only commentator who explains that this refers to those who are hostile to Islam and Muslims and not to all Christians and Jews. Even Maududi does not explain this. If these verses (and others like it) do no refer to all unbelievers, why is that not clearly explained?

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Fatal errors and flagrant false beliefs in the Translation of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad4- Why was the translation mentioned above published in a Muslim country taking into account that Muhammad Asad - to my knowledge - is living in the Kingdom of Morocco? I find nothing in the Qur'an or the Sunnah to support the issues mentioned in it. I hope that your fatwa will back me up to refute these matters and prevent the publication of this translation here.A: The translation referred to contains fatal errors and flagrant false beliefs. As a result, the Constitutional Council of the Muslim World League in Mecca issued a decree banning the print and publication of this translation.May Allah grant us success! May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions!Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and 'IftaAbdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz`Abdul-Razzaq `Afify`Abdullah ibn Qa`ud`Abdullah ibn GhudayyanSource : Fatwas of Permanent Committee>Group 1>Volume 3: `Aqidah 3>Prophets>`Eisa (peace be upon him)>The translation of the Glorious Qur'an by Muhammad AsadAlso Check :Fatwas of Permanent Committee>Group 1>Volume 3: `Aqidah 3>Prophets>`Eisa (peace be upon him)>The status of the Prophet `Eisa (peace be upon him) according to the Qur'an and SunnahFatwa no. 2190Q: We were informed that a translation of the Qur'an by Muhammad Asad would be published soon in Dublin, Ireland. This translation will be distributed here. A committee, from among Indian Muslim Professors, has been formed to publish this translation. Muhammad Asad alleges in his translation that prophet 'Eisa (Jesus) died and that the Muslims' belief in his return is not true.....read here

Muslims in Mumbai and other parts of India should beware of this translation. It is being sold by Dr. Zakir Naik's organization for Rs. 1148. Other bookstores are also probably selling it. The book is named "The Message of the Qur'an" and the publisher is ASN. Check - IRF_books.JPG

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There is probably no translation in existence which any scholar would agree with 100% of it. The simple fact of the matter is that the Quran cannot really be translated. Any translation is an attempt by the translator to put into another language what they understood from the Arabic i.e. a translation of an understanding of a meaning.

Hence Asad's translation, along with every other translation, is bound to have errors. Part of the function of Alim.org is to allow for people to annotate and discuss translations so that flaws can be revealed and made known. So you would theoretically have more of an organic translation rather than a static one.

It's naive to assume that because some ulema gave a fatwa you can prevent the distribution of a literary work. This is due to a plethora of different reasons not least of which is the fact that the ummah is not unified on which scholarship they follow. Hence, what would actually be beneficial to people, rather than the above post, would be to find the various places in the Asad translation which you understand to be problematic or incorrect and post comments on those pages explaining why there is a problem. That would actually provide valuable knowledge and discussion.

Of course, that also requires more effort than simply lambasting the entire translation. Nonetheless, the ajar is there for the taking for anyone who chooses to do so.

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Na'uuthubillah. Why does Allah use the word dhuq i.e. taste when referring to punishment in the hellfire? What is the difference between tasting and other words that could be inserted here like feel or eat?

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assasalaamualaikum this is a good question. This aayat was actually sent down on a specific occasion. The famous commentator of the quranIbn jareer has related from Ikramah (RA) that when Rasulullah (SAW) came to madinah he had a treaty with the Jews that they would protect each other. meaning the muslims would protect the jews and the jews would protect the muslims. unfortunately the jews went against this and secretly invited the mushrikeen makkah to their fort to plan some treachery againt the muslims. On this the ayat was sent down to warn the muslims against becoming close to the jews and the christians as they had proven themselves not worthy of trust.

Now if we look at the issue of freindship with the jews and christians in the light of the quran and sunnah in a more general manner the we would have to see what the ending verdict of the quran is by looking at all the aayaat. Asad probably gave the commentary of "those who are hostile" indicating toward the ayat#8 insura mumtahinah(60) which states

"Allah does not forbid you in regards to those who did not fight you on account of faith and did not expel you from your houses, that you do good to them and deal justly with them. Surely allah loves those who maintainjustice"

Her we can see clearly that if a non-muslim is good to us it only right for us to do good back to them. this is not only allowed but loved by Allah as we see in the ayat. In regards to the ayat in sura maaidah there are other aayaat in the quran of the same nature which may make a muslim feel that according to the quran I cannot befriend a non muslim. If we ponder over theword used in all of these aayaat "awliyah" then we will come to notice that Allah is speaking of a certain type of relationship which because of the vastness of the arabic language and for lack of a better term has been translated as friendship. But in the arabic language there are actually many other words which are used to express a type of relationship. Here are some of them to make it more clear for us.

1.MUWAALAAT-This is such a friendship that makes the twofriends so close to each other that the aims and objectives of theirlives become one and united. this type of friendship is totally prohibited in Islam. The objectives of a muslim are differentthen a non muslim. unfortunately many muslims have developed this type of relationship which has caused them to go far fromIslam.2.MUWAASAAT-this can be defined as sympathy and cooperation in lawful matters. this was talked about already in the ayatabove in sura mumtahinah3.MUDAARAAT-this is courtesy. this is allowed with all non muslims, even those who have enmity with muslims with the intention of bringing them closer to islam. this happens when they are ones guests, visitors or neighbors. In the seerat of theprophet and the history of islam many enemies of islam have become muslims because of this. 4.MUAAMALAAT-this is commercial transactions. this is also permissable with all non muslims as long as it is not against the interest of the muslims and are in compliance with the dictates of sharia.

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The clicking sound doesn't happen in more recent browsers. You should consider upgrading to a newer version of your browser (which I'm guessing is Internet Explorer) or downloading another browser like Chrome or Firefox.

As for the short pause between ayaat, this is unfortunately unavoidable at this time. We'd like to make infrastructure enhancements which would allow us to increase bandwidth and stream the recitations ourselves but these things cost money. People can help out by clicking on the donate button or contacting us directly via the feedback link.

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Al-hamdulillahi-Rabbil-alamin, for this wonderful comments for it is a mercy from Allah(SWT) that we muslims se things from a different perspective as long as it does not invalidate our being a muslim...

Concerning the issue of translation of Ar-Rahman-ni-Rahim- i would support the view of Syed Hussain as it more convincing.

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Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said in al-Jawaab al-Kaafi (125):

There are a number of benefits
in lowering the gaze:

1 – It is obedience to the
command of Allaah, which brings happiness to man in this world and in the next.
There is nothing more beneficial to a person in this world and in the next than
obeying the commands of his Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, and those who
are happy in this world and the next can only attain that happiness by obeying
His commands, and those who are doomed in this world and in the next are only
doomed because they ignore His commands.

2 – It prevents the
poisoned arrows (of the shaytaan), which may lead to his doom, from reaching
his heart.

3 – It creates a heart that is
devoted to and focused on Allaah. Letting the gaze wander distracts the heart
and keeps it far from Allaah. There is nothing more harmful to a person than
letting his gaze wander, as it creates alienation between a person and his
Lord.

4 – It strengthens the heart
and brings it peace, just as letting the gaze wander weakens it and makes it
sad.

5 – It brings light to the
heart, just as letting the gaze wander brings darkness to it. Hence Allaah
mentioned the verse of light immediately after the command to lower the gaze,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Tell the believing men to
lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private
parts…”

i.e., the likeness of His light
in the heart of His believing slave who obeys His commands and heeds His
prohibitions. If the heart is enlightened blessings will come to it from all
sides, but if it is darkened, calamity and evil will come to it from all
places. Whatever exists of innovation, misguidance, following whims and
desires, avoiding true guidance and turning away from the means of happiness
and focusing on the means that lead to doom, that will be recognizable by means
of the light that is in the heart. If that light is lost then one will left
like a blind man stumbling in the darkness.

6 – It generates true insight
which can distinguish between truth and falsehood, sincerity and lies. Allaah
rewards His slave for his good deeds with something similar and if he gives up
something for the sake of Allaah, He will compensate him with something better
than it. So if he lowers his gaze and refrains from looking at things that
Allaah has forbidden, Allaah will compensate him with enlightenment; he will
compensate him for restraining his gaze for the sake of Allaah, and will open
to him the doors of knowledge, faith and true insight which he only attained by
means of the light in his heart. The opposite of that is the blindness which
Allaah attributed to the homosexuals, which is the opposite of insight. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, by your life (O
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in their wild
intoxication, they were wandering blindly”

7 – It creates a heart that is
steadfast, brave and strong. Allaah will give him both insight and power and
strength, as it says in the report: “The one who goes against his whims and
desires, the shaytaan flees from his shadow.”

On the other hand, the one who
follows his whims and desires will feel a sense of humiliation, indignity,
worthlessness and insignificance, which is the punishment which Allaah has
decreed for those who disobey Him as al-Hasan said: “Even if they ride the
finest of mounts, the effect of sin will never depart from them. Allaah insists
that the one who disobeys Him will be humiliated.”

Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted, has connected strength to obedience to Him, and humiliation to
disobedience to Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“But honour, power and glory
belong to Allaah, and to His Messenger (Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), and to the believers”

Faith is both words and deeds,
inward and outward. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Whosoever desires honour,
power and glory then to Allaah belong all honour, power and glory [and one can
get honour, power and glory only by obeying and worshipping Allaah (Alone)]. To
Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (i.e. the
goodly words are not accepted by Allaah unless and until they are followed by
good deeds)”

i.e., whoever desires power,
let him seek it by means of obedience to Allaah and remembrance of Him, by
speaking good words and doing good deeds. In Du’aa’ al-Qunoot it says: “he is
not humiliated whom You have befriended, nor is he honoured who You take as an
enemy”. Whoever obeys Allaah is His friend in as much as he obeys Him, and he
will have support and honour from Him commensurate with his obedience towards
Him. Whoever disobeys Him is His enemy in as much as he disobeys Him, and he
will have humiliation from Him commensurate with his disobedience towards Him.

8 – It blocks the shaytaan from
a means of entering his heart, for he may enter with looking, and penetrate the
heart faster than the wind blowing through an empty space, and he may present
to him the image that he looked at and make it attractive, like an idol to
which his heart becomes devoted, then he encourages him and gives him hopes,
and fans the flames of desire in his heart, adding the fuel of sin which could
not have reached his heart without looking at that image. So his heart becomes
inflamed and surrounded with fire on all sides, resulting in infatuation and
frustration, and he is in the midst of it like a lamb in the oven. Hence the
punishment for those whose desires were fuelled by haraam looking is that in
al-Barzakh they are placed in an oven of fire.

9 – It distracts one from
thinking of what is in one’s best interests, so his affairs become neglected
and he follows his whims and desires and neglects to remember his Lord. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“and let not your eyes overlook
them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him
whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, and who follows his own
lusts, and whose affair (deeds) has been lost”

10 – Between the eyes and the
heart there is a connection which means that the one is affected by the other,
and if one of them becomes good, the other will also become good, and if one
becomes corrupt the other will become corrupt. If the heart becomes corrupt the
gaze will become corrupt, and if the gaze become corrupt the heart will become
corrupt, and similarly if one is sound the other will also be sound.

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I M A BIOLOGY TEACHER & DONT HAVE GUD KNOWLEDEGE OF ARABIC BUT STILL I THINK ACCORDING TO TRANSLATION OF PICKTHALL OF AYAT 5 OF SURAH HAJ IS ABOUT THE CREATION FROM DUST, THEN FROM SPERM, THEN FROM CALLUS(TISSUE CULTURE) & THEN FROM A CELL(BOTH PLANT I.E., SHAPLY & ANIMAL I.E., SHAPLESSLY). PLZ OR KINDLY SOME BODY GUIDE ME IS MY UNDERSTANDING IS GUD OR WRONG. THANKS

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Since you are a biology teacher you should have come across embryo genesis ALLAH narates here the entire process of Child development in few words . first man created from dust then the offspring from the sperm which fertilizes with a ovum and the fertilized zygote is formed which is referred by ALLAH as lump of flesh (to give a better understanding for the traditional Arabi people) and ALLAH tells in the last passage that the earth seems to be barren but the life emerges when Rain water falls on the land the seeds germinate give rise to plants .

“Thatis the Scripture whereof there is nodoubt,guidance to muttaqeen”. al-baqarah 2: 2

Muttakun:ØThey are theBelievers, do righteous deeds, following the Guidance of Allāh, andgives wealth for love of Allāh, to kinsfolk, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer,those who ask and to set slaves free; and observes salāh and pay thepoor-due. And they keep their treaty (promise) and the patient in distress,terror and time of stress. Such are they who are Truthful People. Such are the muttaqun. For detail of “muttakun”Remember (’a-diker)! the Qur’ān al-baqarah 2: 177.

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I enjoyed reading Salim Anik's response to Syed Husain's criticism of Yusuf Ali's translation of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim. Brother Salim's response was comprehensive and without malice. Islam is a beautiful and peaceful deen.

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Al-Salam u AlaikumYou can get it free download from a number of website. But it do not work in 64 Bit computer and also in Windows 7. However it works well in Visata & 32 bit.Some of the website for free download is.http://www.kalamullah.com/misc.html

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There's no mistake. You might be using one of the fonts that places the kasra above the letter but below the shadda as opposed to below the letter. With these type of fonts, a fatha is above the shadda and a kasra below the shadda. Try switching to the "Me Quran" font via the "Change Font Options" link on the left sidebar. "Me Quran" is a font that places the kasra below the letter if that's what you are more used to seeing.

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Now i understand it.Actually i am used to read kasra below the letter but here its is above the letter but below shadha.I have the font as "Me Quran" but it appears the same.Thanks a lot for clearing my doubt.

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Non pious women are for non pious men, and non pious men are for non pious women, and that modest women are for modest men and modest men are for modest women and they are above slander's accusation,for them there shall be forgiveness from Allah and they would receive great reward from Almighty.

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The two words used in Arabic are الخبيث and الطيب. The four translations: corrupt, unclean, vile, and impure are for الخبيث, whereas for the second word الطيب the translations are opposite of the first: good, and pure. First of all we need to determine the characteristics of each meaning specified by the scholars and then review our characteristics for good and bad, look at explainations by numerous scholars for this ayat with available ahadith relating to it before we judge the Qur'anic statement Vs our impression. It may be an error on our part as oppose to Allah, SWT's words. May He, the Exalted One, guide us to understand and apply properly the Qur'anic Guidance.

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I think if it is mentioned in Quran that good spouse is for good and bad one for bad then we should accept it as it is. We are no one to judge a person's good characteristics. Sometimes it seems
apparently that a person is not good but it may possible that he or she may be near to Allah more than than any one else. Main thing we should learn form this ayah that we should control our (nafs) desires and urges for the will of Allah SWT.

And I think one ayah of Quran has many meanings which we can not understand fully. May be this ayah is related to couple in Jannah. There would be good for good and bad for bad.

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First of all, whatever is written in the Quraan is the message from ALLAH to all the human, so we can learn and implement those things in our life. So it means that ALLAH, Quraan, Ahadees can't be false or lied. The second thing is that how can you be so damn sure that that spouse is really good who got the bad spouse or woman ? How could you be able to judge that person is so good ? only ALLAH judges everyone and he is the only one knows all the things. At the end i would say that " Quraan " Doesn't lie. It exactly happens whatever has been written in this and by said ALLAH and our Prophet Muhammad ( P.B.U.H ). Thanks

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The situation you mention can happen because of the following two reason (And Allah knows best):

Those so called good spouse must at some point in their life been impressed by the bad people and internally despising good company in favor of the evil.

(You can fool the people but you cannot fool Allah)

Or if they are really good, Allah must have send good person to them, but they disliked the good person because of some deficiency in worldly affairs, like for example wealth or social status.

Every good that Allah decrees is a favor from Him, and every evil that we encounter is a consequence of our own actions (designed ingeniously by Allah to test us)

O Allah protect us from the evil of our own souls and keep us in the company of good people and increase our knowledge and give us command over our own desires and make us seed for good wherever we are.

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Well said sister.
You are right, that each Qur'anic ayat can contain numerous meanings. There is another point for us to ponder as well: If we study Qur'an properly, we can find many answers to a question or concern in some other place in the Qur'an. Also, the words (ahadith) of Prophets, SAW with his Sunnah can be used as the guiding lights. May Allah, SWT give us the patience to study our Lord's words with best understanding. Aameen.

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We, at Alim.org appreciate your time and feedback. Please specify which harakah you are talking about. We only provide a technology platform for contents provided by others. We do wish to assure there is no errors in the contents. So we take time to fix any errors when clearly specified.

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I have visited this site many times and it reaily provide quran access in variety of context, like mushafa and text, one or repeated tawalat of ayahat, book marking etc. Congratuation! for really good efforts.

I would like to request you if you can add urdu translation of Quran and Tafseer.

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Thank you very much for your encouraging comments. We will continue our efforts to provide the best technology platform with continually adding materials, insha Allah.

In regards to Urdu material, we will do our best to comply with your request. As you know each project costs money. If few of our users join hands and support a project financially, it will be easy to bring any authentic Islamic educational information on this platform. We do need and request our user's help to invite their family, friends, and community members to use alim, provide feedback to improve it, and support it's efforts financially.

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Assalamu Alaikum to all my muslim brothers. I am new to this site.
Recently Almighty Allah has bestowed me with a baby girl. I am wondering to keep an appropriate islamic name for her. My wife is suggesting for "AFIFAH ANJUM". would like to have your suggestions on this name whether it is appropriate for a Muslim girl

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Assalam alaikum,

I have used Alim with my last laptop computer and have found it most educating and useful. I pray Allah to reward the compilers of this very useful conpedium with His mercy and aljanna. Ameen.

Ihave now changed a new laptop and I am making an effort to install an Alim software. All the old versions have failed. Kindly guide and help me to get one Ican install. A soft ware of about 62bites. I hope you will help. Wassalam.

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"I
heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) say: If you search for the
faults of the people, you willcorruptthem, or will nearlycorruptthem. AbudDarda' said: These are the words
which Mu'awiyah himself from the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), and
Allah benefited him by them."

We are not better at judging who's good and who's not. These are our own perception of people. Allah is the Judge and Allah has given the authority to judge to certain people in authority like Qadhi etc and that too in case of conflicts. Quran says in Surah 17 Ayah 36, "And do not pursue that of which you have no strong reason to believe ; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of feeling in the heart will be enquired (on the Day of Judgment)."

Who is Tayyeb? Does one become tayyab after sincerely repenting from what he or she has done in the past? History can also be misleading. And we dont even know if the person we think is good might be bad and he might be hiding something but it's a sin to speculate in Islam. You can not do this as Quran says, "O believers ! Avoid suspicion (speculation) as much as possible: suspicion (speculation) in some cases is a sin: and spy not on each other, nor backbite on one another. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother ? No ; you would hate it (so hate backbiting), and fear Allah: In fact, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.(Al Hujarat Ayah 12)

We should try to be positive and see positiveness in people. (May Allah Guide us all)

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Aside from what I have read about plural and metaphorical use when referring to the verse "giving zakat while in riku position", this simply can not refer to Imam Ali because of the sole fact that when he is praying he would never ever offend Allah SWT (not even for a millisecond) by diverting his attention from prayer to point to his ring so that the poor man could pry it off his finger.

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My dear friend u even don't know that namaz teaches us about charity, brotherhood, tolerance etc, then how Imam Ali would refuse to give charity ?? because essence of salat will no more remain there if he paid no attention.

For your information once Hazrat Muhammad SAW called a sahabi named as Kaa'b while he was offering salat, kaa'b thought i will listen to HIM (SAW) once i finish salat. After salat he went to listen, Hazrat Muhammad SAW said why you didn't respond to me? Kaa'b said ya rasul ullah i was offering salat.

Now here is the point for you. Was Hazrat Muhammad SAW not aware that kaa'b was offering salat ? of course he was.Hazrat Muhammad SAW was giving us message that teachings of salat are more important as one of teaching is to listen Hazrat Muhammad SAW with our whole n soul not matter what !!

In this ayah, Hazrat Ali has been pointed as our one of companion among (ALLAH and MUHMMAD SAW)

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Brother Imam Ali (as) was so concentrated in his prayer that Allah (SWT) accepted the poor man supplication through Imam Ali (as). Prayer is communication with the lord of the worlds and Allah (SWT) ordered Imam Ali to give his ring as charity.

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I have a to share something that really bothered me today. A enemy of Islam says, that the Kuraan is false because it states that the earth is flat and he gives different ayat to prove his point. 20:53, 43:10, 50:7, 51:48, 71:19, 78:6, 79:30, 15:19, 79:30, 18:47 all the versus say that Allah has made earth a plain or flat. This is really bothering me and I am sure there is an explaination. I am afraid that Muslims or non Muslims who read these Ayyat might deviate from Islam. This is why I am hoping Insha Allah I can get a good answer so I can refute this enemy of Allah. Thank You very much and Assalamu Alaikum.

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Dear brothers Husan and Lawal, I just reviewed the literal meaning of the verses quoted in the comment. Here are what I found in the four Quran translations available for you on the alim.org, talking about the earth: 15:19: Spread out.18:47: A barren waste.20:53: Cradle, bed, or carpet.43:10: Cradle, resting place, or carpet.50:7: Spread out.51:48: Spread out or laid out.71:19: Wide expanse or carpet.78:6: Resting place, a bed, or an expanse.​79:30: Spread out or expanse.First of all we need to understand the context, content, and direct addressees of the specific verses, then learn the meaning and explanations of scholars through their presentations instead creating our own. None of these verses reflect earth in terms of a physical body as flat. May Allah, SWT help us all. Aameen.

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Our brother AlMinshawy (Mujawwad) is excellent and I will still listen to him I believe it is an honest mistake. Reciting Sura 42 verse 26 he skipped the word "Wayazedohom" وَيَزِيدُهُمْ. . This is happening from my own equipment. I could be wrong. Please check the source.

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Thank you for being Alim user and supporter. The Alim Foundation will consider your request in it's future plan. Alim is a small volunteer run organization completely supported by donations. With your financial support Alim can speed up its efforts.

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Assalamu alaikum,Masha Allah teh site is very useful. i would like to draw your attention on translation of last words of last aayat of Sura Fatiha. the trasnlation reads "And not those who not go astray"Here not should not come second time. it will change the meaning and spirit of the word. Please revise and effect correction. RegardsShoukat Ali KhanHyderabad India

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We, at Alim Foundation, are very appreciative of your support by way of using our site and providing your comments. May Allah, SWT bless you and be pleased with you. Aameen. First of all, Alim.org, is a technology platform that brings to you authentic books and other religious information. We neither published the original text of Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation nor have the right to update it, unless we Alim made the error. Second, the Alim's text matches the published paper translation. Therefore, it can not be changed unless there is an update of the published version. If you read the text carefully, you will find the English translation correct. Thanks again.

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Masha-Allah (SWT). A very good and appropriate response by the Alim.Org Team regarding the "error" pointed out by a reader regarding Surah 1 Verse 7. Al'ham'du'lil'laah, may Allah (SWT) Guide all of us, Forgive us our shortcomings and Guide us to that striving which will earn His Pleasure Insha-Allah (SWT). Ameen! Yaa Rabb-al-A'la'meen. Salaams (Dr Ahmed Adam, South Africa)

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